Associate Director, Public Affairs, Europe

Are you passionate about building trusted partnerships with healthcare stakeholders and public decision-makers across key markets in Europe? Do you thrive in a strategic, cross-functional role where you can help create the conditions for sustainable patient access while ensuring high standards of compliance, credibility, and external engagement? If so, now is your chance to join Ascendis Pharma as our Associate Director, Public Affairs, Europe.

Ascendis Pharma is a global biopharmaceutical company committed to making a meaningful difference in patients’ lives. Guided by our core values of Patients, Science, and Passion, we are applying our innovative TransCon® technology platform to develop therapies with best-in-class potential to address significant unmet medical needs.

At our headquarters in Hellerup, Denmark, research facilities in Heidelberg, Germany, and additional offices across Europe and the United States, we are advancing a pipeline within Endocrinology Rare Disease. Across additional geographies, we also work closely with global partners to bring innovative therapies to patients worldwide.

We are seeking a strategic, externally oriented Associate Director, Public Affairs, Europe to join our growing organization. You will be responsible for shaping and executing Ascendis' European public and government affairs strategy across priority markets, with a particular focus on influencing the broader stakeholder environment and policy that supports timely access for people living with rare endocrine disease.

The role will lead non-promotional engagement strategies related to disease policy, healthcare-system stakeholders, industry associations, and broader public affairs initiatives across Europe.

You will report directly to the Head of Commercial Europe and be based in one of our European offices. Given the nature of the role, close collaboration with Medical Affairs, Market Access, Legal, Compliance, Corporate Affairs/Communications, and affiliate leadership will be essential. This is a visible role requiring strong collaboration skills and the ability to operate effectively in a complex, matrixed, and entrepreneurial environment

Your key responsibilities will be:

• Lead development and execution of an integrated European Public Affairs and health policy strategy designed to advance patient access across priority markets. Define priorities based on business objectives amidst evolving healthcare system dynamics.
• Contribute to stakeholder mapping across priority markets, identifying key decision makers, policy influencers, clinical leaders, HTA stakeholders and healthcare-system partners who can improve patient outcomes and access, and enable progress on healthcare policy.
• Support affiliate-level governmental and public affairs priorities by providing strategic direction, content support, partnership models, and real-world examples of disease policy engagement at national level. May include collaboration with government ministries, industry associations, and broader healthcare-system stakeholders when appropriate.
• Enable HCP- and society-linked policy initiatives in close partnership with Medical Affairs, such as reference-center mapping, burden-of-disease symposia, and clinician-authored materials—while ensuring scientific independence, appropriate governance, and compliance.
• Work closely with Communications / Corporate Affairs to ensure consistent and credible external positioning, and with Legal and Compliance to ensure all engagement approaches are appropriate, non-promotional, and aligned with governing policies and local requirements.
• Collaborate closely with Market Access and HEOR to help shape the external environment around value assessment, evidence expectations, rare disease policy frameworks, and evolving HTA methodologies at European and national levels.
• Represent Ascendis in selected external forums, including industry associations, rare disease initiatives, and relevant policy discussions at supranational or national level, in close alignment with internal governance and company values.
• Partner with patient organizations, clinical societies, centers of excellence, and relevant healthcare-system stakeholders to strengthen the rare disease ecosystem, including initiatives related to care pathways, standards of care, referral networks, registries, and diagnostic infrastructure.
• Shape disease policy and stakeholder positioning at European and national level, including development of policy narratives, stakeholder engagement plans, and external positioning papers on rare endocrine disease burden, patient access, and system-level barriers to diagnosis and treatment.
• Monitor and influence emerging European and national health policy developments, including EU HTA implementation, Rare Disease initiatives, European Reference Networks, pharmaceutical legislation, and other relevant policy reforms.

Qualifications and skills

You hold a relevant academic degree and have significant experience in European government affairs, public affairs, market access, healthcare policy, and/or related strategic functions within the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry. You are a strategic, collaborative, and externally credible leader with the ability to translate complex healthcare-system and policy dynamics into actionable plans across Europe.

Furthermore, you bring:

• 7+ years of relevant experience in pharmaceutical / biotech government affairs, public affairs, market access, healthcare policy, or closely related functions, ideally within rare disease, specialty care, or highly specialized therapy areas.
• Strong experience operating at regional or global level, with demonstrated ability to support or guide affiliate-level execution across multiple European markets.
• Proven track record in developing stakeholder engagement strategies and cross-functional external engagement initiatives.
• Strong understanding of European healthcare systems and demonstrated experience engaging with government or quasi-government stakeholders, industry associations, healthcare-system stakeholders, and broader healthcare policy actors.
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking, including ability to assess non-traditional access levers using criteria such as feasibility, timing, impact, probability of success, and risk.
• Ability to work effectively across the Medical–Market Access–Commercial interface.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; additional European languages are a plus.
• An advanced degree (e.g., MSc, MPH, MPA, PharmD, PhD, or similar) is preferred.

Key competencies

To succeed in this role, you combine policy acumen, stakeholder sensitivity, and strategic execution. You understand how healthcare policy is shaped across Europe and can build trusted relationships with policymakers, healthcare stakeholders, and industry partners. You bring strong judgment, maturity, and credibility, and you are comfortable operating in areas where impact depends on influence rather than formal authority. You have unbridled curiosity.

You are highly collaborative and able to work effectively across Commercial, Market Access, Medical Affairs, Communication, Legal, Compliance, and affiliate teams. You know how to distinguish between policy shaping and promotional activity, and you are thoughtful in designing initiatives that are both high-impact and compliant. You are also entrepreneurial, resilient, and comfortable operating with ambiguity in a fast-moving environment.

Travel

Approximately 30–40% travel within Europe.

Apply now

We evaluate applications as they are received and encourage you to apply as soon as possible. Interviews are conducted on a rolling basis, and we reserve the right to close the posting when the position is filled. 

To ensure your application is reviewed, please submit it through the specified platform - applications sent by email or other channels will not be evaluated. 

You can learn more about Ascendis by visiting our website

Applications must be submitted in English and will be treated confidentially.

A note to recruiters:

We do not allow external search party solicitation. Presentation of candidates without written permission from the Ascendis Pharma HR team (specifically from: Talent Acquisition Partner or Human Resources Director) is not allowed. If this occurs, your ownership of these candidates will not be acknowledged.